Chapter 65: The Node of History

After sounding for most of the day, the cannon finally stopped, Zhang Zhimu ordered a signal, and the musket was loaded with a fire rope; The crossbow is wound and loaded. Stopping at half a incense, Zhang Zhimu ordered to start the boat. The flotilla joined a long line and went down the river, this time at full speed. When they came to the Kaifeng River section, the surging river on the water had already washed away the traces of the fierce battle, but there were a few warships still burning on the shore, and the boats that landed on the south bank were obviously ignited by the army of King Chuang. On the embankment of the riverbank, there are dense shacks that cannot be seen, and there are forts made of earth piles not far away. Zhang Zhimu thought to himself, this is an army of four or five hundred thousand. After a big battle, the armies on both sides of the strait are licking their wounds like a fierce lion that has just finished fighting, and they are indifferent to the small animals around them. Zhang Zhimu's flotilla and his fleet, like small animals, passed under the watchful eyes of the troops on both sides of the strait. The armies on both sides of the strait were a little puzzled, how could such a bold person dare to pass through the battlefield where the two armies exchanged fire, especially the victorious side, the army of the king, they all watched the excitement on the embankment, and they all wanted to see the merchant fleet passing through the battlefield where the flames of war had not yet been extinguished. No one thought to stop and ask. God always cares for those brave people, and the fleet led by Zhang Zhimu was unbelievable and passed this dangerous section very smoothly. After this paragraph, Zhang Zhimu realized that his back was already soaked with sweat. Yang Yulin quietly tugged at Zhang Zhimu's sleeve and motioned for him to change his clothes. Zhang Zhimu went back to the warehouse and changed his clothes. When I came to the bow of the boat, I saw that the fleet was in chaos, and the boats of other merchants behind came up from behind and waved goodbye to Zhang Zhimu, because the front was the place where the Yellow River branched, and everyone really broke up here. Zhang Zhimu and everyone stood at the bow of the boat and waved at the boat opposite. Li Zhi said in his memoirs: "I can't calm down when I recall that scene now. People really worship Mr. Zhang. There is no hypocrisy, Mr. Zhang finally shocked the world, and I always feel that it started at that time. ”

When he arrived at the place where the Yellow River branched, Zhang Zhimu seemed to have a sense of it. From this point on, there are two different options, and there are different paths for choosing different directions. What about history, history will also have some critical junctures, and with different choices there will be different results. Let's just say that Li Zicheng in front of him surrounded Kaifeng, the historical record has been surrounded from May, the Yellow River broke in September, and the water rushed into Kaifeng City, before the capture of Kaifeng, it should be said that the fight was evenly matched, and it has been a stalemate. At this time, it is like the Yellow River has reached a fork, and it is possible to choose which direction it is. No matter how much we cross over, no matter how much ability we have, we must conform to the general trend of history, and we need to choose the right time at the key point and adopt some methods to let history move forward in the direction we want. Otherwise, going against the tide of history will not play any role and will soon be annihilated. Zhang Zhimu secretly decided in his heart that he would help the Kaifeng defenders defeat this siege and change history a little. Because Li Zicheng succeeded this time. It was definitely the Waterloo of the Ming Dynasty, and since then, the road to destruction has been accelerated. Zhang Zhimu didn't want the Ming Dynasty to perish so quickly. Because as long as the Ming Dynasty is there, it can command the Quartet, and the Qing soldiers and Mongolia can be contained. Li Zicheng didn't dare to let go of his hands and feet. Then you can buy yourself some time. As for what to do, we have to go to Xuzhou.

However, not long after the boat turned southeast along the Yellow River, Zhang Zhimu was in reverie here. There was a cannon shot from the front. After signaling the entire caravan to stop, Liu Yun sailed forward with three armed ships. Zhang Zhimu's command ship followed.

The three boats led by Liu Yun walked for a short time when they saw thick smoke rising in front of them. After walking a little further, I saw that three warships were chasing a warship that had been injured and a little crooked, and I knew by looking at the flag that it was three ships that broke into the king's pursuit of an official ship. Zhang Zhimu sent a signal and ordered the ship to save the officers and soldiers.

Liu Yun's armed ships were much smaller than those warships, but their maneuverability was much stronger than that of large warships.

As soon as Liu Yun saw the signal, he ordered the bed crossbow to prepare, and fired a fire oil bomb at the last of the three ships, the one closest to him, because it was not far away, and this ship was also going all out to deal with the ship in front, Liu Yun's ship approached them and they didn't find it. This oil bomb drew a parabola, and at once it was stuck on the deck of this ship, and then there was an explosion, and the bamboo tube containing the fierce fire oil was blown up, and the fire was blown up in all directions, and the fire soon burned on the ship, and the officers and men on the ship could not stand such a fierce fire and jumped into the water one after another.

On the other two armed boats, both were commanded by experienced people who had participated in the battle on the Fen River, and before the sailors on the king of war dropped the muzzle, the boats were already close together, and then the muskets played a role, and before the people climbed up, ** threw up a batch. When the musketeers got on board, it was basically a massacre. It was always the musketeers in front and the archers in the back. The musketeers finished firing in front, and after a batch of bullets, the archers fired a row of arrows forward, and then back, and the musketeers stepped forward again, and another batch of bullets was fired. Soon the two warships ceased to resist. Zhang Zhimu's command ship also went up, and seeing that the ship of the officers and soldiers was about to sink, Zhang Zhimu leaned over his ship, and this warship of the Ming army was seriously damaged, and there were only ten people left with the wounded, and the officers and soldiers on the ship sank soon after they arrived at the command ship. After Zhang Bingchen came over to bandage a few people, something unexpected happened. One of the rescued men was the commander of the navy, and he suddenly looked up to the sky and sighed, and suddenly drew his sword and wiped it from his neck. Fortunately, Yang Yulin reacted quickly, and the long whip flew out like lightning, knocking his sword away at once. Zhang Zhimu hurriedly went over and supported the leading officer who wanted to commit suicide. This person's name is Yang Junyi. At this time, Yang Junyi said: "I saw your dart flag, and I knew that you were from the Huwei Dart Bureau, so I had to report it a long time ago, and I knew about your battle against the thief army and the navy." Thank you for saving our brethren. But I have to die. ”

"What do you mean by that?" Zhang Zhimu asked.

"Dozens of warships of our navy were sunk by the thieves, and I went back alive. It must be to bear the responsibility for the defeat, that is, to be a scapegoat. If I die, I will still end up with the wisdom of dying for the country. If you go back and die, you will implicate your family. Alas! Our Da Ming Shui Master, he ended up like this. Yang Junyi sighed and said.

"Our Daming Water Division, invincible in the world, how can we not defeat the thief army." Zhang Zhimu asked.

Yang Junyi said; "There are so many reasons. First, the officers are cowardly and the soldiers are war-weary. If you can't pay your food on time, can you be willing to fight? Also, this battle is not fought like this, ordering our navy to meet the enemy against the current, the speed of the ship is slow, and the thief army battery is set up on the shore to wait for work, as soon as we approach the shore, more than a dozen cannons are used against our boat, our ship is in the water, there are waves in the water, the ship is unstable, how can the cannon be accurate on the shore. We risked our lives and rushed up, but the infantry ships did not come forward, there was no way, our naval division's warships could only rush forward, and when they reached the shore, they were shot down with fireballs and fire bricks. Several ships were set on fire. We cannot fight, and we cannot withdraw. In the end, as soon as the thief ship rushed down, they swept us away. Before the war, I told the manager that I would be very passive if I played like this, but my opinion was ignored. This time it really came true exactly as I said. The boss was afraid of being responsible, and he wouldn't let me go, so he would have used this to find a reason to put me to death. Yang Junyi shook his head and said.

Zhang Zhimu suddenly remembered someone and asked, "Do you know Qin Peng?" ”

"I don't know, I've heard about him. I can't compare to him, he has money in his house, and he has a relationship. Bought a life, we all know it. But I can't! Yang Junyi said.

Zhang Zhimu said: "I have a way, that is, I can let you not implicate your family, but also stay, and have the opportunity to contribute to the people and the country in the future." What do you think? ”

In fact, how can anyone be willing to die. Seeing that there was a glimmer of life, Yang Junyi still couldn't believe it. Zhang Zhimu asked, "Are you brothers reliable?" ”

"Reliable, they can't go back when they return from the battlefield." Yang Junyi said.

"Who are you officers here?" Zhang Zhimu asked.

"The other is a sentry officer and the other is a thief," Yang replied.

At its peak, the Daming Naval Division had more than 3,500 warships and a very complete establishment system. Generally, there are two Fu ships, one Haicang and two Fu ships, which are arranged as one sentry and one sentry officer; The second outpost is a battalion, with leading officers. The one in charge of a boat is called a thief. Each battalion had warships: ten large, medium, and small warships; four firearms, general cannons; Forty doors of the Franc machine; 30 doors at the mouth of the bowl; 500 spray cans; Sixty-eight beak guns.

Zhang Zhimu thought to himself that officers at this level were the best scapegoats, and there was not much they could do if they were unjustly killed, but when it came to fighting, they were the core of combat effectiveness.

Zhang Zhimu said to Yang Junyi: "Now put all your clothes into the warehouse and change them, and then give me all the clothes and armor of the three of you." ”

Yang Junyi and the other ten people went into the warehouse and changed their clothes. Zhang Zhimu asked people to find three corpses according to the appearance of the three people, and put on the clothes and armor of the three people. Yang Junyi understood that Zhang Zhimu wanted to use these three corpses to replace Yang Junyi and the other three. Yang Junyi said: "I have a mark on my left arm. I'm afraid that my family won't know about it, and if I find out that it's not me, won't my efforts be wasted. Zhang Zhimu said: "Come on, cut off the left arm of the corpse." Then, the corpses were wrapped in white cloth, and it didn't take more than two days to see who it was. Wait until you arrive in Xuzhou and then wrap it with lime. ”

Yang Junyi suddenly knelt down, and the remaining nine people also knelt down. Yang Junyi said: "From now on, there will be no Yang Junyi in this world." Please take us in, we are willing to be cattle and horses to follow Eungong. Please come up with a name for us. Zhang Zhimu hurriedly helped them up and said: "You are all pillars of talent, and when we are together in the future, we will all be brothers." No more kneeling. You won't be able to use your original name in the future. In order to remember, Yang Junyi changed his name to Mu Yi, and the other two brothers were called Li Gongming and Liu Tao. The three of them thanked them. Zhang Zhimu said: "The scope of knowledge about this matter is as narrow as possible, but fortunately, the boat behind has not come up yet." Throw all the other uniforms and armor into the water. Externally, it was said that we had only fished out the corpses of three officers and soldiers. ”

Zhang Zhimu thought to himself, this is my future admiral. After arranging these ten new brothers, Zhang Zhimu came to the two captured warships, and Zhang Zhimu was shocked when he saw it. I know that I am lucky to win again. It turned out that these two were the warships of the Daming Navy, but the ships were all infantry and changed sailors, and the training was not in place. The ship was equipped with all kinds of firearms, but because Liu Yun's boat suddenly approached and was suppressed by musket fire, it could not be brought into play, otherwise, he might have to suffer some losses.

Zhang Zhimu knows this history very well, and these ships were brought over by someone from the Daming Navy Division when they surrendered to Li Zicheng. But Li Zicheng was not at ease with them, so he tied them up and killed them all in the name of going to the camp, and buried them in the lotus pond pit. Therefore, the current Li Zicheng's sailors are not very strong, and Yang Junyi is now Mu Yi, and they were defeated by the artillery on the riverbank.

The two ships each captured more than a dozen sailors who broke the king, and Zhang Zhimu knew that these people now, as long as they had food, they didn't care who they were fighting with. So he took out the magic weapon to defeat the enemy, and after some mobilization, these people all joined the kiln team. Zhang Zhimu asked them to quickly change out of their livery and regroup. With a few people from several armed ships, plus veterans like Mu Yi, it was easy to maneuver these two warships. Zhang Zhimu ordered to send a signal to the flotilla behind.

The flotilla began to go down the river again.

This section of the waterway is to first pass through Guide (Henan Shangqiu), and then to Xuzhou, although at this time Guide (Henan Shangqiu) has been occupied by Li Zicheng, but because most of Li Zicheng's army is outside Kaifeng, so the fleet was not harassed here, and it was also successfully passed.

Zhang Zhimu was very uneasy in his heart, he knew that he had to come up with a way to change the trend of history at this critical juncture in history.